Good practice: The FABEL family service in the district of Lippe

Making the location more attractive, supporting companies in becoming more family-friendly and helping employees to balance family and career in a very practical way: The range of tasks of the FABEL family service in the district of Lippe is diverse. A portrait of the successful partnership between Lippe companies and the district and an interview with coordinator Sandra Stövesand.

"We have a great network here." Sandra Stövesand coordinates the FABEL Family Service Lippe and is satisfied with what has developed in the district since 2009. "FABEL" stands for FAmilienBEtreuung Lippe. But FABEL offers more than just family care. The service provides a wide range of services for companies in Lippe: The services that companies can call up from FABEL range from stocktaking and needs assessment to advice on family-friendly structures and training for managers. Stövesand summarizes: "We offer the foundations for a family-friendly personnel policy. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. We meet companies where they are and work with them to develop individual concepts for a family-friendly culture."

The network now consists of 50 companies with a total of 22,000 employees. An impressive figure that illustrates the importance that many private sector companies attach to the topic of family friendliness. The impetus for founding FABEL also came from the business community: The IHK Lippe zu Detmold provided the impetus in 2009 and wanted to make an attractive offer to (future) skilled workers in particular by improving the compatibility of family and career. Twelve companies were on board at the time and hoped to receive low-threshold advice and support on the topic of family-friendly HR policies so that they would not fall behind in the competition for skilled workers in the rural region of East Westphalia.

The FABEL family service is organized by the district administration, which coordinates the service and provides two positions for it. FABEL is refinanced by the member companies. The contributions are based on the number of employees. "The companies learn from each other, can learn a lot from each other and thus generate significant added value," explains Sandra Stövesand. Direct contact is important, which is facilitated by the short distances in the region. "We go to where entrepreneurs meet, to regulars' tables and events, to organizations such as the Chamber of Industry and Commerce or business development, to clubs such as Rotary or Lions."

At the same time, the employees and their families benefit. Sandra Stövesand reports on a situation in which she was recently able to help spontaneously: "The mother of a working woman with dementia urgently needed a place in care because she kept wandering off. Thanks to our good local contacts, we were able to help her quickly with emergency care - a real strength of the project." With such practical help, the FABEL Family Service not only relieves the burden on individual employees, but also on companies, which have to cope with fewer absences as a result.

"We have the interests of both sides in mind and act on two levels, the personal and the company level," emphasizes Stövesand. "The close networking within the district administration makes it easier for us to provide practical help in individual cases," explains Sandra Stövesand. It is important to find a common language in cooperation with company representatives and to keep an eye on the interests of both companies and employees with regard to family-friendly HR policies.

Mrs Stövesand, you have been coordinating the FABEL Family Service since 2009. What has changed since then?

One major change has to do with demographics. The focus of companies and their employees has shifted: Whereas in the beginning it was mainly about childcare, today care plays an increasingly important role. In 2021, for the first time, we had more requests in the context of care than in the context of childcare. We have worked intensively with companies and managers, raised awareness and brought the topic of "reconciling care and work" out of the taboo zone. And we are continuing to work consistently on this so that we do not lose sight of it. Because our approach is life-phase-oriented. This means that in the world of work, the issue of work-life balance affects everyone, from trainees to employees aged 55+.

We have noticed a positive development in terms of work-life balance. Just three or four years ago, this was not an issue. Especially here in rural and rather conservative East Westphalia-Lippe, fathers did not play a major role in care work. But that has changed, partly due to the coronavirus pandemic. We are supporting this process with advice services such as part-time parental leave. Because something has to change not only at a private level, but also in the corporate culture.

What characterizes the cooperation between the district administration and the Lippe companies?

Overall, the cooperation works very well. This is reflected not least in the number of member companies. We occasionally get the impression that some companies may not see the district of Lippe as a partner on an equal footing - perhaps because of some prejudices against local authorities. However, we have been able to convince some companies through our personal commitment and intensive networking. This is where our strengths come to the fore: the short distances and the connection to the region. We know what is needed and our dealings with each other are informal.

The FABEL service is networked across all areas of work and is considered a cross-sectional task of the district with a good overview of all services and offers across all 16 municipalities and beyond the district boundaries. This enables us to quickly and spontaneously develop new and needs-based services, such as the "Wishful Grandparents" project. All in all, it's a win-win situation for everyone involved.

In a nutshell: What advice would you give to stakeholders in other regions if they want to set up a project like FABEL?

Don't be afraid of contact, actively approach the companies, find a common language, point out opportunities to reduce the workload for management, HR and employees and emphasize the image gain for the company and the district. It's worth it!

We spoke to Ms Stövesand in 2022.